Music Theory
by baka coconut
Summary: Lavi and Allen finally found a place of solitude in their lives. They had lives with nice, neat roles to play, though they still felt the ache of the happiness that was robbed from them both years ago. Can two halves make a whole? Laven AU 19th century.
1. Requiem

Re-edited this chapter, because I still missed some very simple stuff that made me look dumb XD I'll be re-editing all of my chaps, by the way, before I write more. This is me trying to recuperate from Laven week still, just to let you know. Writing every night for a week straight DESTROYED me. It was still fun though. Hope the new edits make an improvement!

Warnings: Boy/Boy love, language, blood, angst, and a little bit of torture in the future.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

* * *

Allen couldn't stop the huge sigh that escaped his lips.

Why did he always get stuck with these crap jobs for Cross? There are plenty of other kids old enough to do his bidding - hell, Kanda was older than he was, but was _he_ ever sent on deliveries? No. Only Allen was roped into mundane tasks like this. He looked away from the green and gold sign above his head, toward the store down the street. A man was outside, advertising a half-off sale for twenty pound turkeys. God, what Allen would do to get a hold of one of those. The scent that wafted down to him made his mouth water and his neglected stomach growl. It was therefore with great frustration that he pushed his way through the door of Bookman's Café.

The feeling dissipated quickly as he entered though, being replaced by a sensation of wandering astray. He was expecting a quaint little coffee shop, with pastel paint and fluffy little pastries, but all that he could see were books and sofas. It was stuffy, quiet, and a little cramped - probably a great contribution to why it was completely vacant. Allen stepped forward with hesitance, leaving barely-there footprints in the dust on the floor. He spied two doors that were perpendicular to each other, one of which was straight ahead of him and had easily detectable signs of life through it, so he chose that to be his first destination.

He entered the room to discover he had been right about picking this door. A young lady was behind a glossy dark wood counter, busying herself with the dishes. The cups clinked gently as she worked, the noise that had drawn Allen here.

"Um, excuse me…" The timid sound drew the girl's attention, causing her to turn and smile, dark pigtails dancing with the movement.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you come in! How can I help you today?" She approached the register, polite grin still gracing her features.

"Oh, uhm, I was sent by Cross Marian to deliver a book here. Would you happen to be Lavi?" He smiled at her as a look of surprise swept over her face.

She broke out into a brief giggle. "I didn't think I looked like a 'Lavi'!" She straightened back up, pulling away the hand that had come up to stifle her laughter. "My name's Lenalee. Lavi's out right now with the owner, Bookman, but they should be back soon." She took a glance at a grandfather clock that was ticking away to itself in the corner.

"Oh, ok then. Would I be able to leave this with you?" Allen proffered the rather hefty book he was carrying.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, but they don't let me take any of their deliveries! They insist that they're the only ones to receive the new additions. Usually one of them is here, but in times like this, they demand that the courier wait for their return!" She nervously fiddled with her apron. Allen just blinked for a moment before an annoyed grimace made its way across his face. Of _course_ he'd be the one Cross chose to be stuck on a task for potentially _hours_. At his expression, the girl seemed to upset and began bowing. She seemed to be of Asian descent. "I'm so sorry sir! Please feel free to make yourself comfortable!" She stood up to gesture behind her. "Would you like some coffee? Any kind you'd like, on the house!"

"Ah! N-no, that's fine! Don't worry about it, I've got time to kill, so waiting is fine with me!" He held up his hands, waving them in front of him, trying to show her he really didn't mind. "Would it be ok if I just took a look around?" He gave her a reassuring smile. Honestly, he hadn't meant to set off the girl's manners like that.

"Of course! If you need anything just let me know," she smiled and Allen gave her a nod before returning to the previous room, back into the realm of dust bunnies and dim lighting. Really, for a place to read, it should be better lit. People could go blind straining their eyes here, unless they sat directly next to one of the table lamps, also dim. He gave the crowded tables a condescending glance before moving past them, wondering how this place could stay in business with such clutter. Maybe it was all for "atmosphere". He was en route to the second door he had seen when he arrived, maneuvering through the spastic seating arrangements and aisles of tomes, eventually succeeding in crossing over the door's threshold. He stopped dead in his footsteps.

A piano.

A small, modest piano sat on a chest-high stage in another cramped, book filled room. The stage itself was just big enough for the instrument, surrounded by more bookshelves that hugged the walls. He approached the stairs, thinking that this mini-auditorium was a bit out-of-place in an area of such quiet solitude, but felt that it belonged anyway.

With a shaking finger, he touched a key, wide eyed, breathing slowly. He took a seat, setting the book on the top ledge, movements slow and unsure as he came before the beautiful, albeit dusty, piece of his past.

His time learning to play had been the best spent years of his life.

"…Mana…"

He hit the first chord, striking out pristine, in-tune notes. With those few vibrations of sound, the air seemed to clear, replacing the musty, congested feeling with that of light ease and relaxed simplicity. He progressed through the memorized tune, playing with soft touches to keep the volume low and not attract Lenalee's attention. He smiled, nostalgia  
taking him over as words came to mind. A child's play.

"_Soshite bouya wa nemuri ni tsuita,_  
_ikizuku hai no naka no honoo, hitotsu, futatsu to ukabu fukurami itoshii yokogao._"

The melody filled his ears, taking hold of him. He hadn't had the chance to play since he had seen Mana last. There weren't any instruments at the orphanage at all, so he couldn't even substitute the piano with another device. He could only sing to himself in the dark hours of night when no one would hear the occasional tremble in his voice.

It was painful to reflect on times past.

"_Watashi wa inori tsuzukeru,  
douka konoko ni ai wo,  
tsunaida te ni kisu wo._"

The last notes rang out to sink into the walls as the memories faded away to leave Allen alone with the present once again.

He felt hollow.

"You're perfect."

Allen whirled around, flying up into to a defensive stance as he pulled himself back from the vulnerable state he'd been lost in. He found a redhead standing against the door, boots crossed at the ankle, one green eye gleaming, while the other hid behind an eye-patch. The man sent an amiable smile up to him as he pushed off of the doorframe, extending his hand to elaborate.

"We've been trying for a long time to find a player as good as you, but have so far been sadly unsuccessful," he gave a shrug. He approached the stage, his face sliding into a cocky, laid back grin. "However, like I said, with the way you play, you'd be perfect. Do you know any other songs?"

Allen, now thoroughly confused, only nodded, wondering who exactly was this boy? "I know a few other pieces. I can read music too, but I haven't played in a long time, so I'm not sure how good I am at it anymore."

"Well, you sounded great just now."

Allen blushed, once again embarrassed that he'd been caught. "T-thank you…"

The other man climbed onto the stage, leaving handprints where he had pushed himself up in the film of dust. "If you could play other songs as well as that one, I'd like to hire you."

Allen stared, completely taken aback by the sudden proposal. "What?! I mean, I'm flattered, but you've hardly heard me play, and I'm not sure if Cross would let me since he has me doing odd jobs for him and-"

"Did you say CROSS?!" Startled, shocked, and slightly appalled eyes were now doing a full survey of Allen, seeming like they were checking for a disease of some sort. He found silver hair, suspicious gloves, and a large scar over one of his grey eyes. He sure did _look_ like one of Cross' "Are you Allen, the boy sent to deliver my book?"

Allen blinked, trying to connect point A of their conversation to point B. "Err, yes. Allen Walker from Ark of the Fourteenth Orphanage. Are you Lavi?" Allen observed as the visible emerald eye seemed calm as Lavi came to grips with the apparently very shocking situation before him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm the manager here, Lavi. Um…" He drew closer to Allen, a look of determination in his eyes. His arms grasped the other's shoulders as he stared him dead in the eyes. "Please Allen, take the job. I know Cross, and I know he's probably made your life suck by sticking you with odd jobs and distracting debt collectors. Bookman and Marian have known each other for years. I'm sure Cross will let you work here. It'd give you a stable income so you can stop doing that other crap for him. Someone like you and at your age shouldn't be trapped in that kind of situation."

Allen, surprised and wondering how Lavi knew how old he was and how his life was going, could only stare. The opportunity sounded good enough, and the walk wasn't far from home. "Um... Sure, why not?"

Lavi pulled away clapping his hands together in accomplishment. "Excellent! You can start tomorrow at nine then, ok?" He paced over to the book resting on the piano, lifting it to tuck it under his arm. "Thanks for this, by the way. Must've been a pain to carry all the way here."

Allen laughed sheepishly with his arm behind his head, trying to make the effort put into the book's delivery look like it wasn't that bad. "Well, since you have the book, I guess I'll just get going then. See you tomorrow, sir!"

Lavi called out to the already retreating back, "Just call me Lavi, or I'll give you a nickname you'll regret!"

Allen called out something along the lines of "I'll keep that in mind" as he exited.

Lenalee came to fill the empty door frame. "Well he was nice, though he did seem to be in a rush to leave just now…"

Lavi chuckled from up on the stage. "I kind of startled him, but I got him to accept my job offer for a pianist!"

"He plays? I didn't hear anything before you two had started talking." She placed her finger to her lips in curiosity.

"Yes, and quite well at that. He's modest, but I think he'll do just fine." He dragged his index finger across the keys, drawing a line in the dust, connecting Allen's fingerprints. "Maybe I should dust it, as a first day present?"

Lenalee waved him off as she too turned out of the door. "Impossible."

Lavi smiled down to the floor as he was left alone. It might be worth the effort, seeing as how this was one of Cross' kids. All of his orphans were one of a kind, both in the good and bad way. Already, from their first encounter, he was sure that Allen would be a great source of fun. Setting the book back down, he took a bandana out of his pocket to keep his hair back. He dipped his hand into his other pocket to retrieve a handkerchief.

He whistled as he started to dust off the lonely piano.

* * *

Mission accomplished! This is much better now! Feel free to review again if you want! Also, remember to check my profile for Allen's play list of songs! I'll be posting them down here in the AN's, but the links are in my profile. Thanks for reading!


	2. Crescendo

Hello my darlings! Sorry for the delay, but I was a little stuck with how I should go about writing this next chapter. The first one seemed so interesting, I feel that all of the broth between the meat and potatoes of my story stew will be boring… Well, let's hope I manage to avoid that!

Warnings: Copy-paste last chapter's.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

* * *

Allen found himself, once again, sighing at the prospect of entering Bookman's café.

The thudding of his boots against cobblestone slowed as he passed a delicious smelling bakery. A nice, fresh, crunchy baguette would do wonders for his gruel-filled stomach, but alas, his hard earned money was never really his to spend on even modest delicacies. He forced his eyes away, feeling the pull of fresh goods continue to tug at the back of his mind like a persistent child.

He looked down the street to his destination, only find a surprise when Lenalee dismounted from a rather luxurious carriage, waving off the driver. It carefully maneuvered back into the moderate traffic in the streets as someone called something back to her in a high pitched, vaguely nasally warble. Allen collected that whatever was said had to have been mortifying, for by the time he reached the shop, Lenalee was bright red with one hand over her face, while the other was working the lock.

"Good morning Lenalee!" He gave her a cheery wave as he came to a halt next to her.

She turned to give him a polite smile, cheeks still slightly flushed. "Oh, good morning Allen! I'm glad to see you're punctual," she opened the door to let the smell of coffee and incense float out into the street, "unlike Lavi who never wakes up in time to have anything open by the time I get here," she heaved a sigh, one that said she'd heaved that very same sigh countless times before, and would continue to heave it for years to come as she flicked on the lights.

"Is he late because he lives far away?"

She turned to give him a look of immeasurable annoyance as she pointed to the ceiling. "He lives upstairs."

Allen blinked a few times, looking to the dusty chandelier that hung over his head, slightly confused.

Lenalee walked toward her room in a huff. "It's his own fault that I yell at him every morning. If he would just go to _sleep_ at night instead of wasting away reading, I'm sure he'd be able to wake up. He reads all day anyway! Why can't he take an eight hour break so the next day he can do his _job_?"

Allen followed the sound of her angry ranting, feeling like he should leave her alone to fume, but not wanting to ignore her either. "Um, Lenalee?" He was a little intimidated as she stopped violently grinding coffee beans to give him her attention. "What exactly should I be doing right now?"

She blinked for a moment, not quite understanding what he meant, before it dawned on her that he didn't really have that much of a job description. "Oh! I'm sorry, I completely forgot this was your first day!" She put her finger to her lips in thought. "Well, since you'll need to get used to it, why don't you go wake Lavi up this morning?"

Allen was flabbergasted.

He had to go and wake up some crazy insomniac with whom he had only had a brief meeting with yesterday?

"Errr, what?"

She giggled at him, ponytails bobbing. "Just go up those stairs and through the door, his room's right through there."

"…You're serious?"

She nodded.

He grudgingly walked to the corner opposite the grandfather clock he'd seen the day before, releasing a heavy sigh. He decided that the two most common things for him to do in this place was sigh and be blindsided.

There was a fine black spiral staircase in a nook in the wall, which he took up to the next floor, nervously glancing back down to Lenalee's encouraging face shining up at him. Something about her expression seemed slightly sadistic. He knocked on the heavy dark wood of, presumably Lavi's door, hoping he'd magically be awake so he wouldn't have to go through with this bound-to-be horribly awkward task.

To his dismay, his dreams fell flat on their faces.

"Go on in, the door's unlocked." Lenalee smiled that same weirdly-evil smile up at him. He heard her call a "mind the mess" up the stairs as he finally manned up enough to open the door.

Allen was once again dumbfounded.

A "mess", as Lenalee had called it, was the biggest understatement of the century. The large room looked like someone has taken all of the litter in London an dumped it all on top of every single piece of furniture and square inch of floor available, save a small path down the middle. Mountains and towers and piles of paper were lumbering over Allen, promising to crush him flat if he so much as looked at them funny.

He kept his arms in and his head tucked down as he tried to squeeze down the path without stepping on any stray newspapers or files. He figured if he just followed it, he'd eventually find Lavi's bed. He came to a fork, saw one ended in another downward spiral staircase, and decided Lavi must be the other way.

It was absolutely ridiculous that he couldn't just _look_ to see if his bed was that way, but the papers were stacked to the ceiling somehow, creating extra walls and corridors. Finally, after gingerly stepping over a sort of threshold, he had reached a circular kind of "room", in which Lavi lay in a comfortable, deep sleep on a dark red comforter, bathed in the morning light.

Allen was not moved.

Getting here was like falling down the rabbit's hole, and it was time for Alice to get the hell out of Wonderland, rabbit in tow. He approached the bed, sternly looking at the other man's serene expression.

"Lavi?"

No response.

"…Lavi?"

Still dead to the world.

"Laaaaavi?"

He scratched his belly.

Allen took hold of his shoulder, giving it a shake.

"Lav-" THUD.

"NO PANDA I DON'T WANT TO MEET THE QUEEN OF FRANCE DAMNIT!!"

Lavi blinked, looking at his extended fist in puzzlement.

Allen was on the floor.

"OW! Damnit! Do you always punch the person who wakes you up, or am I just a good target?!"

Lavi looked down to the source of the voice, cocking his head. "Allen? What're you doing in my room and - wow! What happened to your face?!"

Allen shot him one of the glares usually reserved for Cross. "Lenalee made me come wake you up, and you PUNCHED me!" He poked at his swelling cheek.

"Oh geeze, I am so sorry! Here, come with me back downstairs."

After conquering the labyrinth of Lavi's room once more, Allen found himself with an icepack and a giggling Lenalee in the café.

She leaned against the counter. "See Allen? You have to get used to waking him up, or else you'll never learn how to dodge those sorts of things!"

Lavi sat down across from Allen at a table, setting a steaming cup of coffee before him, perhaps as a peace treaty? "And to think, this is just the start of your day."

* * *

Yes, yes, short but well, I really don't have any idea where to go after this. I need to ponder bit on the daily workings of Bookman's. I also feel like this chapter's style and mood didn't quite meet the standard I had established last chapter, so I hope to improve that next chapter. Also, Allen's play list will start next chapter, so look forward to it! Feel free to drop me a review, con crit is greatly appreciated once more!


	3. Allegro

Ah, ironically, this chapter was written after watching Death Note again. The sound track makes great writing music! (not all the crazy opera stuff or the opening things, but all the pretty stuff that plays in ep. 37 and 25 T_T) The ending always puts me in a kinda down mood, but that makes for great writing! Let's just hope my D. Gray-man fan fics don't end up cold and forgotten like my Death Note ones did ^_^;;;

Disclaimer: Don't own don't sue.

Warning: If you're in this far, you should've read the previous ones….

* * *

"So, I believe you're already acquainted with your work area," Lavi and Allen stepped into the half circle room they had previously met in the day before.

Allen's gaze was again stolen by white keys. "It looks amazing when it's clean."

Lavi turned and chuckled at the love struck, glazed over look in Allen's eyes. "I thought I might as well makes the place half decent for you. Speaking of which, you might want to take a look at the books in here, they're all music themed. Anything from music theory to sheet music to tacky instrument themed romance novels."

Allen stepped over to the closest shelf to start browsing. The bookshelf wrapped around the whole room, as if it were the walls themselves. A white spiral staircase sat inconspicuously in the back corner behind the audience's seats. "Wow Lavi, this is quite the collection. How did you manage to get all of these?"

"With a _lot_ of time and effort," an irritated expression grew on his face, making it clear that the "effort" he put into it was not something he had enjoyed one bit.

"Did you get them all yourself, or did the owner help?" Allen set a book of music theory back into it's previous place as he turned to politely face his counter-part.

Lavi shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, Bookman was the one who got most of these. He was the only one here for years before I came into the picture."

"So, you and the owner aren't related?"

Lavi's eyes widened, expression wild. "To that PANDA? No way! God, I could only imagine dreading growing up to look like _him_!" He blinked then, horror clouding his eyes as he turned them onto Allen " Y-You're not implying that I look like him right?" He stepped closer, grabbing the other's shoulders. "RIGHT?!"

Alarmed, Allen shook his head with vigor, waving his hands similarly. "N-no! I've never even seen him so I wouldn't know!"

With a sigh of relief, Lavi released him from his hold, relaxing into a rather lazy stance. He must really have some issues if he could get that upset over thinking of being compared to Bookman.

Allen recollected himself, straightening his shirt. "I was just wondering how you wound up working here if you weren't related."

Lavi tensed, eyes growing sharp. "Allen…" he turned, a smile crawling up his face, arms swinging up to rest his hands on his neck, leaning on one leg. "Why don't you play something for me? You sounded so good yesterday, I can't wait to hear more from you!"

Allen blinked, looking at the laid back pose the red head had assumed. "Y-yeah," deciding to go along with it, he turned, unsure smile dropping from his face as he approached the piano.

He seemed to have touched on something tender. Though Lavi was a good actor, Allen had seen enough of them to know the difference between an act and something genuine. The slight tenseness that his arms held, the way the corners of his mouth didn't peak the way they should've, how his smile reached up to his eyes, but left the visible one dull and empty, not to mention the abrupt change in subject gave him away. He probably didn't think Allen could pick up on such small things.

But as Allen sat before the piano, he decided he wouldn't pry.

He would respect Lavi's secrecy.

Because he hadn't asked about Allen's eye yet.

He gently let his gloved fingers fall, sprawling themselves across black and white, easing his first chord into the world.

Lavi hummed contentedly as the melody rose into existence. "Just to let you know, you don't have to play. If you want, you can clean, eat, read, basically anything you want. Just try to play whenever we have customers, ok?"

Allen nodded, trying to focus on his fingers. He hadn't played this piece in some time, so he had to try a bit harder to remember it. Lavi simply moved next to him to watch, not saying a word, studying the articulate movements of the other's deft hands.

The distant jingle of bells was heard, but neither one moved. The sound of Lenalee greeting someone drifted in to act as a counter-melody to Allen's tune. The sound stopped for a moment before a drum beat of floor boards joined in, rolling steadily in a crescendo. Lenalee and her guest stood in the doorway for a moment before moving to seat themselves in the front row.

They all clapped as the last chord flew and died in the still, stagnant air; suffocated. Allen secretly mourned for a moment before kicking back into gear, arm coming to scratch the back of his head and mutter shy thank you's.

"See Brother? I knew he'd be amazing! Don't you think so?" Lenalee was speaking to a tall man with black hair like her own, who shook his head energetically before rising to extend his hand to Allen, who had to dip down to meet it.

"My name's Komui Lee. I'm Lenalee's older brother, and it's wonderful to meet you!" His smile beamed up to the stage, practically illuminating it.

"I'm Allen Walker, it's nice to meet you too," he straightened up, releasing his grip to look at Lavi, who had stepped forward, hands on hips, to come between the two.

"Ah no you don't! You're not going to scare away another one of my employees!" Lavi puffed out his chest, glaring down at Komui.

Allen blinked. Scared? He hadn't had that impression at all…

Komui looked mockingly hurt. "Now now Lavi, whatever do you mean? I wasn't going to do anything to your fantastic new pianist, I swear!"

Lavi cut in. "Yeah right! You were ready to give him the 'If you touch my little Lenalee' speech! Do you know how many people I've lost because of that?!" Komui grumbled about how precious his sister was to him while Allen awkwardly looked around the room. Really, this guy couldn't be _that_ terrifying, he seemed friendly enough.

"Stop that."

Shaken from his thoughts, he looked back to Lavi, who was glaring at him.

He stepped closer. "Stop that thought right now mister, because if you don't then you'll befriend this guy and then," he struck a dramatic, horror stricken pose, "he'll eat you ALIVE!!"

He was promptly kicked in the face by Lenalee.

"He's not that bad, you psycho."

Allen laughed at the sight. These people, really. Lenalee was used to dodging punches from a groggy Lavi, and judging by his quick recovery, Lavi was used to having Lenalee's boot in his face. Komui apparently had a dark side, and Bookman was still an ambiguous shadow of an owner.

Allen was growing to approve of the decision to work here more and more.

* * *

Ah, well, I wanted to go a bit farther than that, because next chapter stuff actually will happen, but I figured no one would like to read through eight hours of Allen's work day, so I cut it off there. I'm excited for the next chapter, so hopefully that one'll come out sooner.

Allen's play list so far:

Light Lights up Light (Death Note ep.25), Sunlit Garden (Revolutionary Girl Utena), Passion-After the battle version (kingdom hearts 2), Dearly Beloved (Kingdom Hearts series), Tsunaida te ni Kiss wo (D gray man [only played that one time before, not since]), Suteki da ne (Final fantasy 10), Aerith's theme (Final Fantasy 7), Memory (Cowboy Bebop), I Don't Love You (My Chemical Romance), Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape (UnderOath), and a myriad of classical music, including a lot of Bach's fugues. Mmmmmm, fugues… I would put more Death Note songs in here, and well, a lot of them have piano in them, but it's mostly strings… sigh.

I know most of these songs won't exist for like, another hundred years, but well, I think they'd sound great on piano, so nyah! Fan fic author power, GO!

… Anyway, please let me know what you think! ^_^;;


	4. Fortissimo

Oh-ho! I have returned! Sorry for the long gap in updates but well, it seems like that's becoming the norm now… sigh. BUT! I have more songs for Allen's play list, listed at the bottom, and that'll be fun. I love finding these videos! I hope someone out there is watching T_T Anyway!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Warnings: You know the drill.

Note: Re-Edits complete!

* * *

Lavi was mighty impressed.

You could tell that Allen was one of Cross' kids just by his work ethic. After a brief conversation with Lenalee and Komui, he had excused himself to begin cleaning. Of all the relaxing things he could pick, he chose the one option that would actually be strenuous. He had opened all the windows, however few there were, and began to mop and dust and shine and Lavi just couldn't understand. He had thought that Allen would at least take it easy in the beginning, reveling in his new freedom from manual labor, but had instead imposed it upon himself. Lavi watched as he descended from a stool, feather duster in hand with a gleaming chandelier overhead.

"You're going to be really handy to have around," he approached Allen as he turned to him, smile in place. "I'm too lazy to clean, and Komui would castrate _and_ decapitate me if I made Lenalee do more than wash dishes."

White feathers swung, as if in a breeze, as their owner chuckled at Lavi's crude humor. "Well then, I'm glad I could be of assistance, although as the manager of this place, you really should keep up on this kind of stuff."

Lavi leaned back into what Allen was realizing was his signature pose, hands behind his head, center of gravity relocating to his left. "Like I said, I'm lazy. It's almost time to close anyway, so you should really be finishing up yourself," Lavi followed Allen as he went to put the stool and duster back in the piano room's closet. "So, do you think you'll stay, or is it too boring?"

Gray eyes peeked out of the closet. "Boring? I think my day's been anything but boring, starting with your wonderful way of greeting me."

Lavi's hand went to scratch sheepishly at his fiery hair, his chuckle matching in demeanor. "Yeah, you've got a point there. Maybe tomorrow will go a little better for your face."

Allen sent him a look, causing him to laugh at the boy's misfortune.

"Ah well, you're free to go for today!" Lavi walked toward the white spiral staircase in the room, waving behind him. Allen smiled once those heavy boots were out of view. Lavi was strange, but he got an odd sense of disguised intelligence whenever he was around the man. He felt older, wiser than those around him, causing some weird sense of security to rise in Allen. He had always been the one protecting others, never having this plain, simple feeling of safety before.

It was…refreshing, and he liked it a lot.

He walked out of the door with a smile, looking forward to polishing the tables tomorrow.

The time of twilight was always gorgeous in this city, shining dimly off of the worn cobblestone. He had crossed the street to investigate a sign for day-old baguettes when he heard the screech of a window opening and his name being called. He turned around to see a burst of red fireworks jutting out of the upstairs window of Bookman's.

"Allen! You forgot your jacket!" Lavi waved at him from across the street. Slapping his forehead, Allen wondered how he had stayed alive for this long while being so air headed. He started across the road once more.

"Sorry Lavi, I was so caught up in clea-"

"ALLEN!"

Allen turned just in time to see his reflection in a glassy black eye before he was on the ground, and -

Lavi.

Could.

Not.

Breathe.

He tried to recover, tried to make his legs move as screams rose from horses and pedestrians, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the red river that was flowing down the street, spidering out through the gaps between the stones. It was only when the driver of the carriage got out and lifted Allen's head that he was able to control his body again, flying down the stairs and into the street.

"ALLEN!!" He slid to a stop on his knees, not feeling the flesh there break as the other man handed him the limp body of Allen Walker. He once again felt his mind vacate his body and could have sworn his heart stopped beating as he looked down. Blood was pouring from his right arm that was bent at a very wrong angle and -

Blood was coming from his eyes.

"Oh god oh god oh god he ran right in front of me oh god his eyes, his-"

"GET US TO THE HOSPITAL!" Lavi started gathering Allen up in his arms, trying not to do more harm.

The stranger, shocked out of his panic, nodded, scrambled to his feet to sprint to the driver's seat. Lavi hauled Allen into the back seat of the carriage, not even sure if it was a corpse that he was holding.

The horses cried out again as they started moving, carriage shaking and rattling with their reckless speed. Lavi went to hold Allen's right arm still so his injury wouldn't get any worse from the ride, only to sharply withdraw, horror taking up residence in his features.

There was blood on his hand where he had touched the soiled button up, but that wasn't the problem.

He had touched something hard.

Lavi ripped Allen's shirt's arm up from the cuff, panicking, hoping to God that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

Of course it was.

There were two inches of bone protruding out from Allen's bicep.

All that blood had to have come from somewhere.

Allen's eyes were still bleeding.

* * *

BWUAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAA!! So yeah, the story actually starts from here. ^_^ things should be a lot less BORING now, which is great because that was a lot of why I hadn't updated earlier, simply because they were boring chapters to write. Things should get interesting now, so you'll probably see at least a little bit more of me now.

Playlist update: Newborn (Muse), Map of the Problematique (Muse)

Yeah, both Muse songs, but Allen needs some fun stuff to play too man! Links in profile.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Rubato

Hello! Finally a new chapter. I'm excited for it ^_^ I'm also excited for Otakon! I'm going down Friday and Saturday, ad it's going to be SWEET! I'm going to buy so much stuff! D. Gray Man will be screening too! Heeeee…. Anyway…

Disclaimer: Don't own don't sue

Warnings: see first chapter

Note: Re-edits up!

* * *

Allen opened his eyes.

Smooth, brushed steel entered the world for but a moment before dashing back to hide behind a grimace.

"Allen!"

He didn't respond to his name, deciding to groan and roll onto his side, hand clutching at his head.

"How are you feeling?"

He clenched his eyes tighter, forming a scowl. "Like I had an elephant sit on me. Hungry too."

Lavi chuckled at Allen's response, settling down into his chair, watching Allen's back move with the rhythm of his breathing. "I bet, you've been out for three days."

Curiously, Allen seemed to deflate at that. "Three days without food? _Three days?_ God am I hungry," He huffed in irritation, shifting a bit before pausing, looking uncomfortable. "What happened to my arm?"

Lavi averted his eyes. "You - were hit by a carriage. The harness hit your arm, breaking it and knocking you down."

A pause of contemplation.

"Then why does my head hurt so much?"

Lavi squirmed in his seat. "On your way down, one of the horse' hooves came up to kick you in the back of the head."

Silence.

Lavi could see the cogs in Allen's head trying to move, trying to absorb the information without being derailed from their normal clockwork. Eventually, he rolled onto his back, arm coming to rest on his forehead as he left out a frustrated sigh. "Damnit, I just got that job too. How am I supposed to play like this?"

Lavi laughed, going along with Allen's attempt to lighten the mood. "Well, the doctor said it was a clean break, so it shouldn't take too long to heal, you just have to be careful of in - " He cut himself off, looking away again before continuing. "Of infection."

There goes the good mood, that fast.

"Infection? How could a broken arm get infected?"

Lavi winced at the predicted words. "When it broke, it - uh, it broke... skin."

A pensive quiet followed.

Allen closed his eyes. "Oh."

Lavi couldn't look at him. If he had just let him go, gave him the jacket the day after, or had caught him before he left, or-

"What time is it?"

Lavi came back from his brooding at Allen's question, checking the clock across the room.

"Two thirty," Lavi glanced down at Allen's annoyed look.

"Damn, too late to get food then," Allen sighed in what seemed to be defeat.

Lavi cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean? I could get you something if you want."

Silver eyes rolled. "And where would you be able to go at this time of night?"

And Lavi felt his stomach drop out of him.

This. Was. Not. Happening.

"Allen, it's two-thirty _p.m._"

Allen's eyes snapped open, widening to match Lavi's expression.

"_What?_" His lungs were starting to fail in providing him oxygen as Lavi leaned in close, putting his hands on a soft, scarred cheek.

"Hold still." He pulled at eyelids, coming closer so that his own panicked breath swept over Allen's face. "Allen, I-" he tugged at Allen's lids again.

"I think you're blind."

Allen laid there for a moment, feeling suffocated in the soft pillow he could not see, the world threatening to crush him, bury him in velvety darkness before he reached out to the other boy, trying to find something stable to anchor himself down with.

Lavi caught the straying hand, pulling it up to his own cheek.

"You can't see me, even though I'm right here, can you?"

Allen couldn't help himself.

He started to cry.

He felt tears leak down his face, flowing over his scar. He heard the other boy gasp, pulling his hand away from where it had been obstructing the warm river's path.

"O-Oh God Allen. Fuck, I'll be right back!"

He let him go, rolling over to be poked once again in the side by his cast. He wished Lavi's hand was still cradling his face, holding him down to earth. He felt himself falling down into the abyssal blackness, crying harder now, not hearing two sets of footsteps returning. He didn't hear the second gasp, or harsh whispers being exchanged, or even the click of the door as the second person hurried away.

He did however, hear Lavi approach, heard the crinkle of sheets as he sat next to him. "Allen, you need to calm down."

He just turned his head away, thinking it was a ridiculous notion to even consider. He was brought back though by Lavi's hand returning to his cheek, pushing against it until he was looking at where he thought Lavi's face was.

"You're not crying; you're bleeding," Lavi wiped at the warm trails his fingers covered as Allen blinked; uncomprehending.

"Bleeding from… m-my eyes?" Allen didn't see him nod in affirmation.

"Right, so you need to try to calm down so that it'll stop," he gently squeezed Allen's cheek, trying to be reassuring. Allen just nodded, raising his arm to curl his fingers around a calloused palm. It was slick, yet sticky.

Bloody.

"I sent a nurse to go get a doctor for you. They'll be back soon, or at least, they should be," Lavi clenched his teeth. "Fuck Allen, it took hours for you to stop bleeding the first time," He held onto Allen's hand more tightly before speaking next, taking a moment to gather himself. "I'm so sorry Allen," his hand was shaking and Allen could feel it tremble against his skin. Was he crying? "We've only just met, and I've already ruined your life," Lavi shook with a self deprecating laugh. "It usually takes at least a _little_ bit longer than this."

He was surprised by the sound of a soft chuckle, the sight of Allen trying to smile up at him, trying to appear heartening. Sadly, it wasn't too successful, considering the blood still pouring from his eyes. "Trust me Lavi, this isn't something that'll ruin my life."

Lavi just shook his head, hair brushing over Allen's knuckles.

His left hand's knuckles.

His left hand's _bare_ knuckles.

Allen snapped his arm away, retreating further back on the bed, cradling his hand as if it'd been burnt. He bent it up, bringing his hand to pinch at the sleeve, pulling at it to see where it ended, flinched when he found it was far too short. He started bleeding heavier.

"Allen - "

"My arm. You - you were just holding this hand."

Lavi took in the scene, feeling tension crawl up his spine as he realized just how wide Allen's eyes had gotten. "Y-yeah. Was that… ok?"

Allen was the one to look away this time, nervously playing with the hem of his sleeve. "Well, yeah, I suppose. Were you… ok with it?" The anxiety started to slither out of Allen, and Lavi felt some of his own tension slide off his shoulders.

"Well, I was surprised at first, but it's not anything that I would be upset over," Lavi observed as Allen looked like he was stuck on something. He kept tightening and relaxing his hand slightly, as if caught in indecision, the red, rough skin stretching and flexing with the movement. With one last moment of hesitance, he reached out for Lavi again, fingers shaking. Lavi gently grasped it, taking Allen's self consciousness into consideration as he held on.

"Sorry, it's just that I - " he looked away, seeming embarrassed. "I just want to know that you're still here."

* * *

NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWW! So, traumatize-ation and fluff! A wonderful combination, if I do say so myself. Ah, this is great, I'm having so much fun ruining Allen's life, and you guys don't even know the half of it. Soon though….Soon.

P.S. Also added The Scientist(Coldplay) and Run(Snow Patrol) to Allen's playlist. Check back at my profile for updates!

for updates!


	6. Accarezzévole

Hello everyone! Update time! Otakon was FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS! My sister and I drove two and a half hours to Baltimore for it, and we got pictures of a few Lavis, Allens, Linalees, one Komui and a Krowry! Lots of Kandas, as expected. Also, Final Fantasy 7 and Bleach GALORE. There were less Death note cosplayers than expected, they mostly just wore t-shirts. D Gray man was screening the first four episodes! Also, the Death Note live action movie (The third one, L save the WorLd) screened, but I've already seen them all and deemed them all terrible so I went to the masquerade instead. Neither my sister or I co splayed since it was my first con, but we're planning on being Allen and Lavi one day, and the Hitachiin twins from Ouran Highschool Host club the second day of Katsucon if we go. Being Allen is so expensive though!!!!!!!! GAAAAAAAAHH!! I would've gone as him if his outfit was cheaper, but a pair of his boots alone is 70 dollars! RAWR! Ah well, if anyone's going to Katsucon in Baltimore, hopefully I'll see you there, also hopefully looking awesome!

ENOUGH ABOUT THAT! STORY TIME!

Warnings: Copy paste from first chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Note: Re-Edits up!

* * *

"It's called Terson's Syndrome," the doctor who, presumably stood before Allen, was trying to explain the effects to Lavi.

"And what exactly does that entail?" There was an edge to Lavi's voice. Allen shifted uncomfortably, feeling like they thought he couldn't hear them now because he's blind.

"Terson's syndrome is fairly new, discovered a little more than twenty years ago. The exact cause is still ambiguous, but we do know it's caused by intracranial bleeding, brought on by either an aneurism or trauma, like in Allen's case."

At his name, Allen straightened a little bit, looking attentive in case they acknowledged his presence.

"There are a few causes that we're speculating on, but it's not too important for you to know. What's important now is why he still can't see."

They were talking like he wasn't there, and Allen felt like he _wasn't_ supposed to be there, listening to them talk about him in such cold, clinical terms.

He couldn't see the worried glance Lavi sent his way.

"What do you mean by 'still'?"

"Usually, once the bleeding stops, vision returns. Only in severe cases does the blindness persist. The reasons for this could be that he's still bleeding and putting pressure on the optical nerves, he formed something of a membrane in his retina that's blocking his reception of light, he has brain damage, or it's just taking longer to clear up."

There was a silence as they both tried to wrestle with that nice chunk of pessimism.

"At least there's one option that'll end up ok," Lavi returned his hand to Allen's to give it a squeeze, trying to reassure him.

Allen nodded. He hadn't spoken since the doctor came in, breaking up his comfort zone with his robotic professionalism.

"True. The worst of these options can be ruled out through examination of the eye, so it'll be easy to tell exactly what kind of condition he's in soon."

Allen heard the scratching sound of the doctor writing before he continued.

"The main thing I would be worried about are some of the side effects of intracranial hemorrhage. He may experience seizures, confusion, sudden headaches, and also there's the chance of recurring hemorrhages that, like a few moments ago, may cause more instances of retinal hemorrhages."

"So how do we know which ones apply?" Lavi became irritated as the doctor sighed at his question, sounding like he was tired of talking and had better things to do. Lavi wished the man would hurry up and answer his questions so he could get out already.

Allen did too.

"We'll run a few tests, see what we can find out. We'll try to at least figure out what's _not_ wrong with him before we send him home."

Lavi nodded, giving Allen's hand a little squeeze.

"I'll go schedule the examinations, while I'm gone I'll let you see your guest."

Allen blinked. "Guest? But I don't know anyone who'd come visit," he had finally spoken up, having finally found something in the conversation that directly related to him. All the fancy terminology before bored him and alienated him from the conversation.

"Your guardian's here for you."

Allen gasped, dropping Lavi's hand as he sat in shock.

Cross was coming here, now?! God, what would he do when he found out his money-maker would be completely incapacitated for who knows how long? Allen cringed at the thought of the impending punishment. He did so right on cue, too, for at that very moment a very boisterous redhead kicked the door in.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW, YOU STUPID APPRENTICE?!" As Cross stomped into the room, Allen brought the sheets up a bit higher, trying to put any amount of space at all between them.

"Ah, Cross! Nice to see you're still doing well!"

Ah, that's right, Lavi had mentioned knowing him. They were probably a secret alliance, ready to pounce on Allen with liquor and women at any moment.

"Ah, Bookman junior! I'm glad you're here, boy, I need to talk to you about that good-for-nothing on the bed."

"The name is ALLEN, dumbass," Allen crossed his arms in a huff. Or he would have, if he could move his right one. He instead wound up with his left arm wrapped around his torso, looking insecure instead of offended. Not the desired effect.

"Oh come on, at least I don't call you 'bean sprout' like Kanda." Cross gave a chuckle.

"Bean sprout?"

Oh god, Lavi had heard that awful nickname. He had also mentioned how he had a thing for embarrassing terms of endearment.

"It's nothing Lavi, ignore it. Why are you here, Cross?" Allen looked in Cross' direction.

His "teacher" of sorts made a noise of indignation, but answered anyway.

"I came to tell you not to come back."

Allen froze.

What was he saying? The orphanage was all that he had left! He couldn't play, he couldn't see, and now he couldn't go home? What had he done so goddamn wrong to deserve this?!

"I'm pawning you off on junior here."

Lavi made a weird sort of chocking noise. "What do you mean by _pawning him off_?! Why are you kicking him out like this?!"

Cross shook his head, approaching Allen. "You know you can't go back like this, boy. You had enough trouble when you could defend yourself, you'd be murdered if you went back now."

Allen felt the bed sink as his father-ish figure sat next to him.

"I can't take care of you, and there's no one else to tend to you. That was your job, and there's no one to replace you."

Allen looked away, knowing it was true. He had been the one to look after the children who were wounded or sick. He was the only one with any medical training, and what he did know was hardly anything at all.

"So I figure that Lavi owes me for letting you take this job, so he can just go ahead and take you as a boarder." There was a moment where Lavi mulled over his new obligation before giving his consent with no lack of reluctance.

"I'm sorry to have become such a sudden burden for you, Lavi," Truthfully, Allen really meant it. He was quite clearly imposing, and he was uncomfortable with that, but neither of them really had a choice.

"Don't worry about it Allen, it's not like you meant for your life to go straight to hell. I _can_ blame this guy though," Lavi sent a glare over his shoulder.

Cross chuckled at the comment aimed at him, standing from the bed. "Well, too bad for you that I don't really care." Cross got up from the bed, keeping his back to Allen. "Hey, idiot."

Allen looked up, obviously the one being addressed.

"Come back to finish your training once you're done being so pitiful. See ya then." And with that, he left the room, having a much quieter exit than entrance.

"Seriously, he can't give me a break, even when I'm like this," Allen looked over in Lavi's direction. "I am sorry though, it's irresponsible for him to force you to take me in."

Lavi shook his head, continually forgetting the gesture would go unnoticed. "Like I said, don't worry about it. I do have to wonder though, why is it so dangerous for you to go back with him?" Lavi eyed Allen as he rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

"Well, even though I'm one of the older kids, I still suffer some bullying. It's not usually anything too extreme, but there have been times where I've been hospitalized for it."

Lavi, shocked, moved closer. "WHAT?! Why would anyone do that to you, especially when you took care of them?" Lavi saw Allen flinch at the volume of his voice, so he sat back a bit, trying to lay off a little.

"Well, the ones I took care of were actually pretty nice to me afterward, but the other kids think I'm cursed, either because of my arm or my eye. It's been hard to find jobs because of that too, which is why I had still been doing Cross' odd jobs for him."

Lavi looked away. He couldn't imagine trying to get through life like Allen, even with his own eye the way it is. He could understand how normal people would be put off by his appearance, but really, to go as far as calling him cursed?

"Actually Lavi, you're the only person who's known me for this long without asking about my eye."

Lavi looked him in the face as he smiled, believing the sentiment would get through to him.

"It's because you haven't asked about mine."

A nurse came in, announcing they were ready to take him.

* * *

Tada! I discovered that Terson's syndrome is now my favourite thing to have wrong with someone. I didn't want to bore you all with too much medical stuff, especially since a lot of the terminology is CRAZY and I have no idea what some of the parts they're naming are! So, I just wrote the gist of it, to not only avoid boring you guys, but to also avoid messing up and saying something incorrect and looking like an idiot. ^_^;; I get tired of nice doctors, by the way. I mean, they're wonderful in real life, but I wanted to make this one a bit of an ass. Lavi's nice enough to make up for it. And they'll be living together now! Did I keep Cross in character? I sure hope so, I tried. Also, I have a thing against having Japanese words in an English story, but I was sorely tempted during their exchange to put a "moyashi" or "baka deshi" in there, but I stand by my writing morals!

Anyway, please drop me a review to tell me what you thought. Thanks for reading!


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